Changing Parties? Olympia Snowe Says The Republican Party Has Left Me Behind

I’ll grant that the Republican party is changing (at least, I hope it is) and leaving people like Snowe behind. But I very much dispute the notion that it’s a bad thing.

I’ve always been a Republican for the traditional principles that have been associated with the Republican party since I became a Republican, when I registered to vote. And that is limited government, individual opportunities, fiscal responsibility, and a strong national defense. So I think those principles have always been a part of the Republican party heritage. And I believe that I reflect those views and I haven’t changed as a Republican. I think more that my party has changed.

Apparently Snowe thinks that supporting traditional Republican principles like “limited government” and “fiscal responsibility” means voting for the single largest deficit spending bill in American history. Which was the “stimulus” spending spree which she and fellow “moderate” Republican Susan Collins (along with then-Republican Arlen Specter) voted for.
Is the GOP leaving Snowe behind? I hope so. Snowe represents big-government Republicanism. Snowe represents finger-in-the-wind Republicanism the adherents of which do whatever they think is necessary to cling to power instead of sticking to principle.
Snowe hasn’t limited government or promoted fiscal responsibility while in office, and neither have many of her fellow Republicans which is why their party isn’t in power any more. If the GOP wants back into power they have to leave people like Snowe behind.
Of course, Snowe and the liberal opportunists will try to weave a narrative around this that has something to do with the GOP becoming more extreme or what have you. But the simple truth of the matter is that you can’t be the limited government party and be taken seriously on that note by the public if you do not actually limit government instead of just paying lip service to it as Snowe does in this clip.